British rockers the Cure will launch a world tour this month in support of their 13th album, Bloodflowers, which marks a return to the dark, densely layered sound the band built its career on.
The saturnine rock icons plan to kick off Dream Tour 2000 in Europe late this month, arriving Stateside May 18 in Atlanta.
The five-man crew, which knocked off a handful of U.S. promotional shows last month, will snake its way west — with stops in New Orleans, Dallas and Las Vegas — before playing a cluster of dates in California. The 20-date U.S. tour then heads east, ending June 20 in Wantagh, N.Y., according to a band publicist.
The group, which formed in 1976 as the Easy Cure, quickly gained a following with a compelling mixture of moods, as heard on the bouncy "10:15 Saturday Night" (RealAudio excerpt), from their 1979 debut, Three Imaginary Boys; "Boys Don't Cry"; and the ominous "A Forest" (RealAudio excerpt).
Bloodflowers, including "Maybe Someday" (RealAudio excerpt), which is at #12 on the Billboard modern-rock singles chart, and "Watching Me Fall" (RealAudio excerpt), is the third installment in a trilogy that includes Pornography (1982) and Disintegration (1989).
Cure U.S. tour dates:
May 18; Atlanta, Ga.; Lakewood Amphitheatre
May 22–23; New Orleans, La.; Saenger Theatre
May 24; The Woodlands, Texas; C.W. Mitchell Pavilion
May 25; Dallas, Texas; Starplex Amphitheatre
May 27; Las Vegas, Nev.; Hard Rock Hotel
May 28; Irvine, Calif.; Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre
May 31; Los Angeles, Calif.; Greek Theatre
June 1; San Diego, Calif.; SDSU Open Air Theatre (tentative)
June 2; Mountain View, Calif.; Shoreline Amphitheatre
June 4; West Valley, Utah; E Center
June 5; Englewood, Colo.; Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre
June 7; Maryland Heights, Mo.; Riverport Amphitheatre
June 9; Tinley Park, Ill.; New World Music Theatre
June 10; Clarkston, Mich.; Pine Knob Music Theatre
June 12; Toronto, Ontario; Molson Amphitheatre
June 14; Mansfield, Mass.; Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts
June 16; Holmdel, N.J.; PNC Bank Arts Center
June 17; Columbia, Md.; Merriweather Post
June 20; Wantagh, N.Y.; Jones Beach Amphitheatre